Telephone index and call timer



Feb. 5, 1957 L. .1. LAVIANA TELEPHONE INDEX AND CALL TIMER Filed March 8, 1955 6, Fig.1

INVENTOR. LA WRENCE LA V/A NA BY A ATTO NEYS.

TELEPHONE INDEX AND CALL TllVIER Lawrence J. Laviana, Kensington, M. H. Rhodes, Inc., Hartford, of Delaware Conn., assignor to (101111., a corporation The present invention relates to telephone accessories and more particularly to a combination telephone call duration timer and number index.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an accessory for use with a telephone which furnishes in a single unit a conveniently accessible index of telephone numbers together with means for clocking and continuously indicating the duration of a telephone call.

Another object is to provide such a combination call timer and number index which is convenient to use, compact in size, attractive in appearance, and inexpensive in construction.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a combination timer and index constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the structure shown in Figure 1 taken on the line 2-2 thereof; and

Figure 3 is a front elevation view of the structure shown in Figure 1.

Referring to the drawing, a telephone accessory constructed in accordance with the invention includes a generally oblong hollow base or housing 2 of plastic or the like including upstanding sides 4 joined by an integral upstanding rear cross plate 6 and an integral front cross plate 3 formed with a horizontal flange 10. Integral feet 12 support the housing with its top slightly downwardly inclined toward its front end, to facilitate convenient use of the accessory.

Within the housing is a generally horizontal transverse partition or shelf 20 for supporting a stack of alphabeti cally arranged index pages or sheets of the type having their side edges formed with projecting tabs graduated in length in accordance with alphabetical position. each side edge of the shelf is a trough 22 positioned so that its inside edge is overhung by the projecting tabs of the index pages, and adjacent the front edge of the shelf are upstanding corner guides 24 for supporting and aligning the front ends of the pages. A depending flange 26 at the front end of the shelf terminates in a forwardly extending lip or ledge 28.

The top of the housing is closed by a cover h spaced above the shelf and pivotally connected to the housing at its rearward end by trunnions 32 journaled in the sides of the housing. Secured to the underside of the cover adjacent trunnions 32 is a bracket formed with fingers 36 concentrically curved about the axis of the trunnions 32 and adapted to fit through holes in the index pages to form a looseleaf binding for the pages. The cover is biased open by a pair of longitudinally extending springs Along lnited States Patent 0 2,780,016 Patented Feb. 5, 1957 ice secured at one end to a downwardly curving portion 38 at the rear end of the cover.

The other end of each spring 40 extends through an opening in flange 26 and is connected to a laterally extending release member 42 having a forwardly and downwardly curving top and a generally vertical rear wall 43 pivotally supported on ledge 28. The release member 42 overhangs the front edge of the ledge 28 and has a rearwardly projecting lip 44 extending across its top edge forming a latch engageable with a corresponding lip 46 formed on a depending portion at the front end of the cover 30. With this arrangement, when the release member is depressed, it rocks downwardly and forwardly relative to the ledge 28, disengaging the latch and permitting the cover to spring open. The underside of the lip 46 has an inclined cam surface which rocks the release member forward momentarily as the cover is closed so that it will latch automatically.

Selection of a particular index page is eifected by a knob 54 slidable on upstanding ridges or rails 52 and having a depending portion extending through a slot 50 in the cover. The selector knob carries a transversely extending selector plate 56 having arms 58 at its ends which extend downwardly into the troughs 22 and hook under the projecting tabs of the index pages so as to lift up all the pages preceding the one selected when the cover is opened. Bordering the sides of the slot on the underside of the cover are serrations 59 which cooperate with a ridge so on the selector plate 56 to facilitate accurate longitudinal positioning of the selector plate relative to the side edges of the index pages. The top of the cover is inscribed with alphabetical indicia 62 with which the ends of the knob 54 register to indicate the page selected.

The timer 64 is mounted in a concealed position on the underside of the shelf adjacent its front end. The timer is of the manually windable and settable type having a spring clock motor enclosed in a casing 66 and having a depending shaft 68 adapted to be rotated in one direction to wind the clock motor and driven in the opposite direction as the timer runs. Secured to the lower end of the shaft 68 is manual winding lever 70 which extends forwardly beneath the ledge 28 and release member 42 and projects from the front of the housing. The winding lever has a small protuberance '72 on its underside which rides on the flange it and the outer end of the lever is formed with an upstanding fingerpiece 74 which facilitates rotating the lever to wind the timer and set it for the desired interval.

The release member 42 for the cover serves as the dial for the timer, and to this end has an arcuate forward edge 76 marked off in minutes. The fingerpiece 74 serves as a pointer cooperating with dial 76 to provide a coninuous indication at a glance of the length of the call. A hell 7% on the timer is actuated by the return of its shaft to its off position, and thus provides an audible signal of the end of the timed interval.

in the use of the device, once the number is selected from the index the cover may be closed and will be latched automatically by the release member 42. The call may then be timed by simply pulling the winding lever 78 across the face of dial '76 so as to wind the timer. The timer then commences to run and drives the windievcr slowly back to its original position, thus pro viding at dial "76 a continuous indication, readable at a glance, of the elapsed length of the call.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall' be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic andspe cificfea-turesof'theinvention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a "matter of language, might be said-to fall'therebetween.

Iclaim: ii In an accessory for use with a telephone of the type having a housing for holding pages of a telephone number index, a hinged cover for the housing spring biased to an open position, and a manually windable and settable call duration timer concealed in the housing having a movablemanual winding and setting lever projecting from the housing," a fingerpiece on the end of'the lever forming a "pointeiyand an indiciabearingdial member for the timer extending in the direction of movement of said finger piece having latching means for engagement with said cover when the cover is closed and mounted for movement'relativeto the housing to move said latching means out of cover engagement.

2. In an accessory for use with a telephone of the type having a housing for holding pages of a telephone number index, a cover closing the topof the housing having a page selector arranged to expose atselected page of the index when the cover is opened, spring means in the hous- CJI mounted on the housing and extending transversely of the, front of the housing,havinghnumerical indicia distributed therealong eooperable with said finger piece to indicate the setting of the timer and having a latch for holding the cover closed.

3. In an accessory for use with a telephone of the type having a housing enclosing pages of a telephone number index, a hinged cover closing the top of the housing having apage selector arranged :to expose a selected page of the index when the covertis Opened, and a call duration timer in the housing having a manual winding and setting lever projecting therefrom movable. in one direction to wind and set the timer and arranged to move in the other direction aszthe timerrnns, afingerpiece on the end of the lever forming a pointer, an indicia bearing dial member movably mounted on the housing extending alongside the path of movement of said finger piece having a latch engageable with the cover for holding the cover closed, and spring means connected between said dial member and cover 'for biasing the cover to an open position and urging said dial-member toward its latching position.

References Citedin the file of this patent g. i i 

